Medieval Castles
Task 1 – Medieval Castles
Select and read the ‘Castle Homepage’ for a basic introduction to Medieval
Castles.
Select the ‘Castle Timeline’ page. In your exercise book, write a short
introduction about castles and draw a simple timeline of the different types of
Medieval Castles that were built.
Task 2 – Motte and Bailey Castles
Select and read the ‘Motte and Bailey Castles’ page.
Complete the following tasks in your exercise book.
Who introduced Motte and Bailey castles?
How was a Motte and Bailey built?
What were the advantages of a Motte and Bailey?
What were the disadvantages of a Motte and Bailey?
Draw and label (name and write a brief description of the feature) a
Motte and Bailey castle. Include the following features – motte, bailey,
palisades, fosse, stables, storehouse, bakery, kitchen, soldiers quarters.
 Fill in the gaps with one of the words listed below to complete the correct
sentence.
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William needed to build castles _______. Many English people continued to
rebel against the ____. He needed to construct ________ along the coast and
across the _______________ in order to protect him and his followers from
the angry locals. The first castles were built of ____ and stone, as these
building resources were easy to find in _______ areas.
There were two main parts to the castle. The ______, which was an earth
mound where a small _______ fort was situated. The other part was called a
________. Often livestock, horses and soldiers families lived in this enclosure.
BAILEY
QUICKLY
WOOD
FOREST
MOTTE
KING
DEFENCES
COUNTRYSIDE
LOOKOUT
Task 3 – Stone Castles and Concentric Castles
Select and read the ‘Stone Castles’ and ‘Concentric Castles’ pages.
Complete the following tasks in your exercise book.
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Why did stone castles replace the Motte and Bailey?
How did stone castles change over time?
What does ‘concentric’ mean?
Describe a concentric castle and explain its main features
Task 4 - Key words
Write a detailed definition for each key word below
Keep
Motte
Bailey
Palisade
Fosse
High walls
Curtain walls
Great Hall
Gatehouse
Moat
Chapel
Well
Rampart
Flanking tower Battlements
Machicolations
Portcullis
Murder holes
Arrow and gun loops
Drawbridge